SandeeOster
@sandeeoster.bsky.social
I am an archaeologist who loves pondering the enigmas of bygone eras and sharing brand-new archaeological discoveries
Isotope analysis proves Andean condors once thrived on Peru's northern coast during the Wari Empire (600-1000 CE), feeding almost entirely on marine carrion. This archaeological evidence could support conservation efforts to reintroduce condors to their ancestral habitats
medium.com/the-academic...
medium.com/the-academic...
Condor Burials: Ancient Andean Condors Once Lived on Peru’s Northern Coast
Recent study conducted a multi-isotope analysis of Condor Remains from Castillo de Huarmey from the Wari Period (600–1000 CE)
medium.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Isotope analysis proves Andean condors once thrived on Peru's northern coast during the Wari Empire (600-1000 CE), feeding almost entirely on marine carrion. This archaeological evidence could support conservation efforts to reintroduce condors to their ancestral habitats
medium.com/the-academic...
medium.com/the-academic...
Bronze Age cultures in northwest China were brewing alcohol 4,000+ years ago using rice and Monascus mold in a fermentation method called "qu." Archaeologists found evidence in 42 pottery vessels from burial sites it seems the ancient dead got one last drink for the road. medium.com/teatime-hist...
Drink for the Dead: Study Uncovers How Bronze Age Cultures Made Alcohol Using Fungus and Rice
Residue analysis of 42 pottery vessels from the Mogou cemetery reveals qu-based fermentation methods using rice and Monascus mold
medium.com
November 13, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Bronze Age cultures in northwest China were brewing alcohol 4,000+ years ago using rice and Monascus mold in a fermentation method called "qu." Archaeologists found evidence in 42 pottery vessels from burial sites it seems the ancient dead got one last drink for the road. medium.com/teatime-hist...
New study reveals rats, not just humans, drove Easter Island's deforestation. The invasive rodents devastated palm forests through relentless seed predation. The real lesson is about unintended consequences when invasive species enter vulnerable island ecosystems
medium.com/the-academic...
medium.com/the-academic...
Rats, Not Just Humans, Drove Rapa Nui’s Deforestation, New Study Reveals
New archaeological analysis reveals the underestimated role of rats in the deforestation of Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
medium.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:01 AM
New study reveals rats, not just humans, drove Easter Island's deforestation. The invasive rodents devastated palm forests through relentless seed predation. The real lesson is about unintended consequences when invasive species enter vulnerable island ecosystems
medium.com/the-academic...
medium.com/the-academic...
New study finds that "juvenile T. rex" fossils actually belong to a separate species called Nanotyrannus, settling a decades-long debate in paleontology. This discovery completely rewrites what we thought we knew about T. rex development and behavior.
medium.com/fossils-et-a...
medium.com/fossils-et-a...
Dueling Dinosaurs: The Fossil That Proves We’ve Been Wrong About T. Rex for Decades
Recent study reveals ‘juvenile T. rex’ fossils belong to separate species
medium.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:41 AM
New study finds that "juvenile T. rex" fossils actually belong to a separate species called Nanotyrannus, settling a decades-long debate in paleontology. This discovery completely rewrites what we thought we knew about T. rex development and behavior.
medium.com/fossils-et-a...
medium.com/fossils-et-a...
In 2022, Norwegian police seized 30 ancient Carthaginian coins from a smuggler who claimed they were part of a massive 200kg hoard looted from Tunisia's coast. Scientists traced the bronze coins back to Carthage around 205 BC, likely minted during the Second Punic War 🪙 medium.com/the-academic...
New study traces the origin of 2000-year-old looted coins & a missing coin hoard
New study examines the numismatic characteristics and probable origin of seized Carthaginian bronze coins
medium.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:46 AM
In 2022, Norwegian police seized 30 ancient Carthaginian coins from a smuggler who claimed they were part of a massive 200kg hoard looted from Tunisia's coast. Scientists traced the bronze coins back to Carthage around 205 BC, likely minted during the Second Punic War 🪙 medium.com/the-academic...
Sarmatians once ruled the Hungarian plains for 400+ years & battled Rome, yet no modern nation claims them as ancestors. New DNA study of 156 genomes reveals the origins of these steppe warriors. How does an entire warrior civilization just vanish from collective memory? medium.com/teatime-hist...
Ancient DNA Reveals the History of Rome’s Forgotten Enemies and King Arthur’s Knights
Ancient DNA reveals the origins, migrations, and genetic legacy of the Sarmatians, the ‘forgotten people’
medium.com
October 28, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Sarmatians once ruled the Hungarian plains for 400+ years & battled Rome, yet no modern nation claims them as ancestors. New DNA study of 156 genomes reveals the origins of these steppe warriors. How does an entire warrior civilization just vanish from collective memory? medium.com/teatime-hist...
The "Plague of Akhetaten" that supposedly devastated ancient Egypt's sun god city, likely never happened. New evidence shows normal burial practices, expected death rates, and orderly abandonment, not the chaos of an epidemic.🏺
medium.com/science-spec...
medium.com/science-spec...
The Plague That Never Was: Was The Ancient Egyptian City of the Sun God Hit by a Plague?
New Archaeological Evidence Reveals that the Plague of Akhetaten Likely Never Was
medium.com
October 26, 2025 at 7:58 AM
The "Plague of Akhetaten" that supposedly devastated ancient Egypt's sun god city, likely never happened. New evidence shows normal burial practices, expected death rates, and orderly abandonment, not the chaos of an epidemic.🏺
medium.com/science-spec...
medium.com/science-spec...
Early Scythian art looked nothing like its famous golden successors. The earliest art was only rams, snakes, birds & felines rendered in bronze & bone, all functional horse gear & weapons, no personal adornment. The iconic "Scythian style" we know today evolved much later
medium.com/the-academic...
medium.com/the-academic...
No Gold, No Myths, Only Rams, Snakes, and Bronze: How The Art of the Ancient Steppes Began
Recent study finds Scythian animal art began with functional objects, with limited motifs lacking the gold and mythological creatures that…
medium.com
October 26, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Early Scythian art looked nothing like its famous golden successors. The earliest art was only rams, snakes, birds & felines rendered in bronze & bone, all functional horse gear & weapons, no personal adornment. The iconic "Scythian style" we know today evolved much later
medium.com/the-academic...
medium.com/the-academic...
New research dated the Mitchell Log from ancient Cahokia to exactly 1124 CE, a massive ~4 ton tree pole that had to be transported at least 180 km without modern technology. At its peak, Cahokia was larger than London making it the largest city north of Mexico at the time.
medium.com/the-academic...
medium.com/the-academic...
Before Columbus: The Log That Dates North America’s Greatest Ancient City
New study dates Ancient Cahokia’s Mitchell Log to 1124 CE and traces its origin 180 kilometers from Cahokia
medium.com
October 24, 2025 at 5:08 AM
New research dated the Mitchell Log from ancient Cahokia to exactly 1124 CE, a massive ~4 ton tree pole that had to be transported at least 180 km without modern technology. At its peak, Cahokia was larger than London making it the largest city north of Mexico at the time.
medium.com/the-academic...
medium.com/the-academic...
Archaeologists discovered a complete Late Classic Maya residential compound preserved underwater in Belize's mangroves. These invisible sites suggest Maya populations were significantly larger than current estimates based on stone structures alone medium.com/teatime-hist...
The Invisible Maya: The Submerged Maya Salt Works Hidden in a Mangrove
New study documents preserved pole and thatch architecture in submerged Maya residential compounds
medium.com
October 20, 2025 at 4:43 AM
Archaeologists discovered a complete Late Classic Maya residential compound preserved underwater in Belize's mangroves. These invisible sites suggest Maya populations were significantly larger than current estimates based on stone structures alone medium.com/teatime-hist...
Archaeologists uncovered a Byzantine child whose bones had swollen to twice their normal size from a disease that baffles even modern doctors. The rare condition, ICH, vanishes completely by age 3, leaving no trace. This child is one of only a few archaeological cases medium.com/the-academic...
A Child’s Illness Frozen in Time: Uncovering a 900-Year-Old Mystery
New study identifies rare infantile cortical hyperostosis in 12th-century child remains from Byzantine Aphrodisias, revealing disease…
medium.com
October 18, 2025 at 8:31 AM
Archaeologists uncovered a Byzantine child whose bones had swollen to twice their normal size from a disease that baffles even modern doctors. The rare condition, ICH, vanishes completely by age 3, leaving no trace. This child is one of only a few archaeological cases medium.com/the-academic...
Scientists discovered the world's first fossilized buttock-drag mark & it was made by a dassie (rock hyrax) 126,000 years ago in South Africa. The 95cm groove in ancient sand dunes also contains what may be fossilized dung, making it one of ichnology's most unusual finds.
medium.com/teatime-hist...
medium.com/teatime-hist...
Scientists Just Found the World’s First Fossilized Buttock-Drag Mark
New Study Identifies First Ever Dassie Trace Fossils Including the First Ever Buttock-Drag Mark Fossil
medium.com
October 17, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Scientists discovered the world's first fossilized buttock-drag mark & it was made by a dassie (rock hyrax) 126,000 years ago in South Africa. The 95cm groove in ancient sand dunes also contains what may be fossilized dung, making it one of ichnology's most unusual finds.
medium.com/teatime-hist...
medium.com/teatime-hist...
A new study of 189 ancient Patagonian hunter-gatherers reveals that even the severely injured were cared for, not abandoned. 💔❤️
3,000 years ago, survival wasn’t just of the fittest, it was of the kindest.
medium.com/the-academic...
3,000 years ago, survival wasn’t just of the fittest, it was of the kindest.
medium.com/the-academic...
Survival of the Kindest: First Study of its Kind to Analyze Hunter-Gatherer Trauma in Patagonia
A recent study conducted the first population-level analysis of trauma, finding that survival was not always based on being the ‘fittest’.
medium.com
October 17, 2025 at 4:32 AM
A new study of 189 ancient Patagonian hunter-gatherers reveals that even the severely injured were cared for, not abandoned. 💔❤️
3,000 years ago, survival wasn’t just of the fittest, it was of the kindest.
medium.com/the-academic...
3,000 years ago, survival wasn’t just of the fittest, it was of the kindest.
medium.com/the-academic...
5,000 ya, the Liangzhu were the only Neolithic Chinese society to work human bones. Research suggests they belonged to anonymous lower-class strangers, discarded like waste in moats. A haunting reflection on what happens when progress creates cities of forgotten people
medium.com/the-academic...
medium.com/the-academic...
Skull Cups and Face-Masks: The Only Neolithic Chinese Culture To Work Human Bones
A recent study examines the modified human bones belonging to the Liangzhu culture, the only Neolithic Chinese culture to do so.
medium.com
October 12, 2025 at 6:56 AM
5,000 ya, the Liangzhu were the only Neolithic Chinese society to work human bones. Research suggests they belonged to anonymous lower-class strangers, discarded like waste in moats. A haunting reflection on what happens when progress creates cities of forgotten people
medium.com/the-academic...
medium.com/the-academic...
Scientists reconstructed a 1mya skull that's rewriting human evolution. The findings suggest modern humans didn't originate 500-700kya, but over 1.3 mya. This pushes back our evolutionary timeline by more than half a million years, if the controversial theory holds up
medium.com/teatime-hist...
medium.com/teatime-hist...
New Study Claims 1 Million-Year-Old Human Skull Rewrites Human Evolution
When I began university, I was told two things: number one, modern humans originated in Africa between 500,000 and 700,000 years ago, when…
medium.com
October 8, 2025 at 5:41 AM
Scientists reconstructed a 1mya skull that's rewriting human evolution. The findings suggest modern humans didn't originate 500-700kya, but over 1.3 mya. This pushes back our evolutionary timeline by more than half a million years, if the controversial theory holds up
medium.com/teatime-hist...
medium.com/teatime-hist...
2,000 yo Siberian ice mummy tattoos were so advanced they'd challenge modern artists. New infrared imaging revealed intricate details showing a master tattooist and apprentice at work. The tattoos were cut during burial, suggesting they served the living, not the dead
medium.com/teatime-hist...
medium.com/teatime-hist...
Woman With The Tiger Tattoo: Decoding The 2,000-Year-Old Ice Tattoos That Would Challenge Modern…
New study reveals hidden techniques behind 2000-year-old tattoos of Siberian ice mummies
medium.com
October 7, 2025 at 5:12 AM
2,000 yo Siberian ice mummy tattoos were so advanced they'd challenge modern artists. New infrared imaging revealed intricate details showing a master tattooist and apprentice at work. The tattoos were cut during burial, suggesting they served the living, not the dead
medium.com/teatime-hist...
medium.com/teatime-hist...
Researchers find a Parthian man with an arrowhead still lodged deep in his leg. Remarkably, his bones show signs of healing, meaning he survived the wound despite the arrow never being removed. The find reveals both the precision of their weaponry & their medical knowledge medium.com/the-academic...
Survived But Not Healed: Archaeologists Find Mysterious Object Embedded in Ancient Parthian Man’s…
Recent study finds Parthian-era individual survived an arrow to the leg but he never had it removed
medium.com
October 6, 2025 at 10:40 AM
Researchers find a Parthian man with an arrowhead still lodged deep in his leg. Remarkably, his bones show signs of healing, meaning he survived the wound despite the arrow never being removed. The find reveals both the precision of their weaponry & their medical knowledge medium.com/the-academic...
🌠New evidence suggests a comet fragment exploding 12,800 years ago wiped woolly mammoths, saber-toothed cats, and an entire human culture. Researchers found shocked quartz at three archaeological sites, the same signature seen at the crater that killed the dinosaurs.
medium.com/science-spec...
medium.com/science-spec...
Did a Comet Kill the Mammoths? New Evidence for the Younger Dryas Impact
New study suggests a 100-meter comet fragment exploding just above Earth triggered Ice Age extinctions and the collapse of North America’s…
medium.com
October 2, 2025 at 4:51 AM
🌠New evidence suggests a comet fragment exploding 12,800 years ago wiped woolly mammoths, saber-toothed cats, and an entire human culture. Researchers found shocked quartz at three archaeological sites, the same signature seen at the crater that killed the dinosaurs.
medium.com/science-spec...
medium.com/science-spec...
🐘Study overturns long-held assumptions about ancient ivory trade! For 1000 years, ivory artifacts in the Southern Levant came from Sudan, not Egypt. The real power players? Nubian merchants who maintained this lucrative trade network even when empires collapsed around them
medium.com/the-academic...
medium.com/the-academic...
How Nubians, Not Egyptians, Drove Ancient Ivory Trade
Recent study traces Southern Levantine ivory artifacts to woodland-savanna regions of Sudan
medium.com
September 30, 2025 at 4:52 AM
🐘Study overturns long-held assumptions about ancient ivory trade! For 1000 years, ivory artifacts in the Southern Levant came from Sudan, not Egypt. The real power players? Nubian merchants who maintained this lucrative trade network even when empires collapsed around them
medium.com/the-academic...
medium.com/the-academic...
A 4,800-year-old family statue from Saqqara is rewriting what we know about Old Kingdom art. Unlike any other, it shows a father and mother in the round—but the daughter carved in bas-relief, holding a goose. Was it symbolism, innovation, or just a sculptor’s workaround? medium.com/teatime-hist...
Lost in the Sand: The First Ancient Egyptian Family Statue of its Kind
Recent study finds 5th Dynasty family statue with a unique depiction of a daughter in bas-relief
medium.com
September 29, 2025 at 10:01 AM
A 4,800-year-old family statue from Saqqara is rewriting what we know about Old Kingdom art. Unlike any other, it shows a father and mother in the round—but the daughter carved in bas-relief, holding a goose. Was it symbolism, innovation, or just a sculptor’s workaround? medium.com/teatime-hist...
Archaeologists identified the first bone whistle ever found in dynastic Egypt. The whistle was likely used to communicate between guard posts protecting the royal tombs from looters. This humble artifact reveals aspects of daily life in Egypt beyond the famous pyramids
medium.com/the-academic...
medium.com/the-academic...
An Egyptian Guard Whistle: The First Bone Whistle Found in Dynastic Egypt
A recent study finds unassuming bone artifact was likely used as a whistle over 3000 years ago
medium.com
September 26, 2025 at 6:23 AM
Archaeologists identified the first bone whistle ever found in dynastic Egypt. The whistle was likely used to communicate between guard posts protecting the royal tombs from looters. This humble artifact reveals aspects of daily life in Egypt beyond the famous pyramids
medium.com/the-academic...
medium.com/the-academic...
Scientists discovered the world's oldest mummies in Southeast Asia: smoke-dried bodies dating back 12,000 years. Pre-Neolithic hunter-gatherers would bind bodies & smoke them over low fires, preserving them before eventual burial. Since decayed, only their bones remain
medium.com/science-spec...
medium.com/science-spec...
The World’s Oldest Mummies Were Smoked 12,000 Years Ago
New research reveals the oldest mummies were the result of smoke-dried mummification over 12,000 years ago
medium.com
September 26, 2025 at 6:18 AM
Scientists discovered the world's oldest mummies in Southeast Asia: smoke-dried bodies dating back 12,000 years. Pre-Neolithic hunter-gatherers would bind bodies & smoke them over low fires, preserving them before eventual burial. Since decayed, only their bones remain
medium.com/science-spec...
medium.com/science-spec...
The world's oldest ankylosaur had 3-foot-long spikes & lived 165 Ma! Scientists now think these massive spikes weren't for defense; they were for showing off to potential mates, like peacock feathers. Later species traded these displays for practical armor
medium.com/fossils-et-a...
medium.com/fossils-et-a...
The Dinosaur with Meter Long Spikes: The world’s oldest Ankylosaur rewrites what we know about…
Recent study analyzes the unique spiked armor of the world’s oldest Ankylosaur
medium.com
September 16, 2025 at 5:30 AM
The world's oldest ankylosaur had 3-foot-long spikes & lived 165 Ma! Scientists now think these massive spikes weren't for defense; they were for showing off to potential mates, like peacock feathers. Later species traded these displays for practical armor
medium.com/fossils-et-a...
medium.com/fossils-et-a...
Researchers discovered the earliest known mention of the Shroud of Turin from 1370-1382 by scholar Nicole Oresme. He called it "lies forged by churchmen" and used it as a prime example of clerical fraud to generate church donations.
medium.com/the-academic...
medium.com/the-academic...
Earliest Mention of the Shroud of Turin Claims it was “Lies Forged by Churchmen”
A recent study provides insights from the earliest mention of the Shroud of Turin, calling it an inauthentic relic
medium.com
September 12, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Researchers discovered the earliest known mention of the Shroud of Turin from 1370-1382 by scholar Nicole Oresme. He called it "lies forged by churchmen" and used it as a prime example of clerical fraud to generate church donations.
medium.com/the-academic...
medium.com/the-academic...
🪲 Archaeologists in Poland discovered a 2,500-year-old child's grave containing a necklace made from 17 green beetle shells strung on grass. The delicate ornament survived because bronze corrosion naturally preserved the organic materials.
medium.com/teatime-hist...
medium.com/teatime-hist...
Bury Me With Insects: Rare Insect Ornament Found in Ancient Polish Child’s Grave
A recent study has found a rare insect ornament in an ancient cremation grave.
medium.com
September 9, 2025 at 9:39 AM
🪲 Archaeologists in Poland discovered a 2,500-year-old child's grave containing a necklace made from 17 green beetle shells strung on grass. The delicate ornament survived because bronze corrosion naturally preserved the organic materials.
medium.com/teatime-hist...
medium.com/teatime-hist...